Lovebirds on the Common

  Our goal is to raise healthy and happy babies !

It has been a real learning expierence for both Tom, and I, and the lovebirds. We have pretty much mastered the health part, thanks to the wonderful people and products from Hagen.

As for the happy part, we realize that not all birds can have babies, no matter how many eggs they lay. We also know that it is not healthy for females to be laying too many eggs without a proper resting period.

Our first challenge involved a unique pair, Ocean, a female Fischer, and Zorro, a  male Blue-Masked. Egg after egg and no babies. Over several months many eggs, but none ever hatched. We were frantic, we tried everything that the books suggested with no results. 

One day we went to buy, 3 Cinnemon Creamino's from a wonderful women who does bird rescue. We named them Coral, Camelot, and Crystal, who was just a baby. Our breeder friend mentioned that she had a lot of eggs and wasn't ready for more babies, so, we took 4 eggs home and gave them to Ocean. Ocean went to work and dilligently cared for those eggs. On the twentieth day, September 25'th, success, one of those borrowed eggs hatched and our first foster baby was born, he was a little Peachfaced baby, we named him Forrest, Forrest Foster.

Forrest is now a big beautiful Peachfaced bird and has picked a mate named Crystal.                               (update) 

Forrest turned out to be Mrs. Forrest and just had a family of five babies, not with  Miss Crystal, with Mr. Opal.

                       Forrest and Crystal

 

---

But that is not the end of the story. The best part is this:

Just about the time when we were about to remove the nesting box, our beloved Ocean laid an egg. And two days later, another egg, then 2 more. After 23 days a miracle happened, Alleluhia was born and two days later Joy joined the family. We don't know how or why, but we do know that we now have two of the most strikingly beautiful Fischer/Blue Masked birds on the planet.          

---

          Zorro is by far, the best daddy Lovebird that we have ever seen. It was really a treat to watch him teaching his babies to eat and take baths. He was the prime caregiver for all three babies, Forrest Foster, Alleluhia and Joy.               

 

Pretty cool stuff.

 

---

 

 

---

 

Our second challenging pair are both pure Peachfaced birds, Willow and Jewls, (my personal favorites) they also had a problem with incubation, maybe over incubation, she tried so hard. More than a dozen eggs, some of her own and some from other birds, no babies. We were about to take Jewls for hormone shots to stop her from laying any more eggs. 

It just so happened, at that time, a pair of our Blue-Masked, Sky and Saffire, were sitting on eggs and Sky has had no problem hatching her eggs in the past. Last year she had two beauties. Four eggs this time. We were counting the days until their first two hatched. As soon as the second egg hatched, the remaining two eggs were given to Jewls. The old "swictheroo" trick. She would have only one day before the first egg would hatch, and two more days for the second egg to hatch. It all worked out perfectly. Iris and Delf, perfect Blue Masked babies are now part of the Peachface bunch. They are quite a colorful family.

It just doesn't get any better than that.                            Life is good !        

     p.s.      Willow can't understand ... why his  babies look  like the  neighbors kids, but Jewls is as happy as a Lark.